Episodes

In episode 19, @Ryan Scott joins Ben and Aaron to talk about Game Design. The conversation ranges from what makes a good game designer, to the relationship between product leadership and design, then over to modern trends and a shared skepticism of NFT-oriented games. Hope you enjoy it!

What is 'Holistic Leadership'? In this episode, Aaron and Ben talk about what it means to be a leader and operating at more than just the process layer. They discuss how leadership and management are different, which do we most often see, and what do we need more of in the modern world? Take a listen if you're trying to improve your leadership capability and feeling stuck. Hope you enjoy!

Over and over we run into orgs that want help with 'the process'. Over and over we do a little bit of exploration and discover that the org's issues reside at a deeper 'level'. In this podcast, we walk through the three layers (Culture, Product, and Process) and talk about how so often leaders are focusing all their efforts on the layer where they can have the least long-term positive impact. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

"Product Management" is everywhere in technology. Wherever you're working there is a need to understand what we're trying to do and where we're trying to go. The role is ubiquitous, it is crucial, and it is also undeniably difficult to do well. 

In this episode, Aaron and Ben bring Darko Vukovic to the podcast. Darko's an ex-Riot/Google/Oracle PM who has led teams, products, and other product managers in a variety of environments. The discussion ranges from what a product manager is supposed to be doing, how do we get sidetracked, and what younger product managers can do to set themselves apart. There's a lot in this one, enjoy!

For this episode we got to sit down with an old friend - Andrew Brownell. He's spent years as a designer and product lead in AAA studios like Riot, Red 5, and Boundless. Included are crucial lessons on getting yourself unstuck, the social nature of design, and incorporating learning into your development approach.  Brilliant guy and we had a blast.

Feedback: People don't even know what we mean when we use the term. We're talking direct, constructive, and growth-oriented - focused on the person and how they behave.  We tend to focus on the work and avoid confrontation, but if you ask anyone you know its likely they have at least one "earth-shattering" story of when someone told them the hard thing and it changed their life. Why do we struggle with this?  This is a key function of a trust-based and growth focused organization. To demonstrate our trust and investment in each other, we have to learn to say the hard things (and hear them too).

In this podcast we discuss and breakdown the major changes that occur as you grow into higher levels of leadership, and how our industry hasn't trained us to be effective when we get into them.

Here we'll provide key focus areas for leaders at various levels and how the journey transforms what tools you'll need to be successful.